by Laura Lee
One word was enough to make him heel. “I’m sorry,” he grumbled.
Once Takk was inside, Leo took a deep breath. I watched him and could see his nostrils flaring. I could also see that his fingers were clenching around the steering wheel. “Leo, you okay?”
He met my eyes in the mirror. “Buckle up.”
I glared at his reflection as I complied. He rolled down his window, which caused the rain to splatter in my face. “Hey, can you put that back up, please?”
He ignored me as he stepped on the gas. Seriously? We raced through the streets until we were back at the hotel a few minutes later. Leo pulled up to the valet and stepped out of the car. As Takk joined him he said, “Take her up. I’ll be there shortly.”
“What? Where are you going?” I asked.
He took another deep breath. “I need to take care of something. I’ll be up soon.”
Takk tried grabbing my elbow again, but I sidestepped him. “Don’t touch me.” Leo was obviously in a foul mood, and I wasn’t going to stand on the sidewalk trying to figure it out. I stepped around both men and made my way towards the lifts. Takk was two steps behind me the entire time. As we stepped into the suite, I said, “As you can see, I’m fine. You can leave now.”
He shook his head. “Nope. I’m apparently on babysitting duty again.”
I rolled my eyes at him. “I’m going to bed.” I briskly walked into my room and locked the door.
I walked into the common room the next morning and found Takk sitting at the table, looking at something on his tablet. It was chilly, so I flipped on the switch to the gas fireplace.
“What are you doing here?”
He took a sip of coffee. “Apparently the only thing I’m good for nowadays.”
The drapes were wide open, with sun shining into the room through a break in the clouds. “Where’s Leo? It’s not like he can exactly be out taking a stroll right now.”
“Belfast.”
Belfast was a city in Northern Ireland, at least a two-hour drive from Dublin. “What? Why is he in Belfast? And when did he leave?”
“He left about thirty minutes after you went to bed last night. As for why he’s there, I don’t know. He just said that he had something to take care of.”
What was going on with that man? He was behaving so strangely. It wasn’t like him to leave me in the middle of the night without a word. “When’s he coming back?”
He shrugged. “Don’t know.”
I rolled my eyes. “Do you know anything?”
He smirked. “Enough to know that he’s pissed at you.”
“What? Why would he be mad at me?”
He raised an eyebrow. “Do you want me to make a list?”
“Cut the shit, smartass,” I snapped. “What exactly did he say to you when he left?”
He took another leisurely gulp from his mug, seemingly in no hurry to answer. “I don’t answer to you.”
My vision blurred until I saw nothing but red. I charged him, taking a fist full of his shirt in my hand, ready to knock some sense into him. He stood up from his chair, eyes glowing like a dog’s when you catch one in your headlights.
With a growl, he warned, “Little girl, if you would like to keep that hand, you best remove it from my body right the fuck now.”
I didn’t know why I was being so ballsy right then, but I wasn’t about to back down. “Oh yeah?” I sneered. “You and I both know that you wouldn’t risk Leo’s wrath by laying a finger on me.”
He scoffed. “I know how to make it look like an accident. Last warning, sweetheart. It’s getting really hard keeping the beast at bay here. Remove. Your. Fucking. Hand.”
I was seething so hard it felt like my body was burning up. I swear I could feel every cell in my body coming to life, as the air around us began to stir. The hand that was clenching his shirt warmed, and before I knew it, he had backed away from me, whimpering like a puppy. The pungent smell of burnt hair circulated throughout the room as the wind began to die down. I looked down at his balled up form and cocked my head to the side. “What’s the matter, wolf? Did this little girl beat you at your own game?” My voice sounded guttural. Like it was layered with a thousand other souls.
His head snapped up. “What the fuck are you? How the hell did you do that?” He glared at me as he rubbed the burn mark on his shirt.
I pointed towards the door. “Get. The. Fuck. Out. Don’t you ever try threatening me again!”
He brushed himself off. “I can’t leave here. Leo will kick my ass.”
The wind started whipping again, which was quite strange considering the balcony door was closed. I clenched my fists, trying to calm the inferno that was raging inside of me. “Leo is the last thing you need to worry about right now. Unless you feel like getting neutered today, get the hell out of my sight.”
I could tell the moment he felt my threat was valid. “Goddammit!” he yelled as he slammed the front door.
The second he was out of my sight, my vision cleared. Looking around, I could see that the room was in complete disarray. The maps that Leo had spread out were scattered across the floor, coffee bled onto the beige carpeting, crooked pictures hung from the wall, and a broken lamp lay on its side. I stood there in awe as I thought about Takk’s question. What the fuck was I?
I couldn’t stop thinking about the incident with Takk. Was I the one who’d made such a mess of the suite? And what about his burn? I’d summoned a defense ball before, which had the same effect, but this was different. I didn’t conjure any dust that a fairy required to perform magic. Not a single speck. How was that even possible? I tried calling Leo, but it kept going to his voicemail. I wondered again why he was in Belfast. Would he be back in time for our meeting with the guardians tomorrow night? I had no idea when and where we were supposed to meet. I hadn’t bothered asking because I assumed Leo would be with me. I felt myself growing more frustrated by the minute. We’d been in Ireland for almost two weeks now and I didn’t feel like we were any further along than where we’d started. Not by much, anyway. I stopped my compulsive pacing and thought, fuck it. I wasn’t going to sit in this room and wait for things to happen. One way or another, I was going to make them happen.
I made my way across one of the bridges and did some people-watching while I came up with a plan. As I walked around, I was amazed at how different things were on this side of the River Liffey. Although most of the buildings were older, this had a much more commercial feel and was not nearly as welcoming. Garbage littered the streets, and I was fairly certain I had witnessed a drug deal or two. I started to lose confidence the further I walked. Somehow, I had wandered away from the main drag into something much more derelict. I passed one building after another, all in desperate need of repairs, until they seemed to blend together. My skin prickled with unease; there were no people crowding the streets, no cabs to hail, and all of the ground-level businesses were closed for the evening. Until that moment, Dublin felt like a city that came alive after dark. That definitely wasn’t the case on this side of town. I lost my bearings and felt as if I were walking in circles. My anxiety level was rising; I had to keep reminding myself that I was fine. All I needed to do was find the river and my sense of direction would be restored. That wasn’t very difficult, right?
I thought I heard footsteps behind me but saw nothing as I glanced over my shoulder. Click. Clack. Click. I stopped to listen and they stopped. I started and they did the same. Okay, now I knew I wasn’t imagining it. I increased my pace, trying desperately not to let panic take over. I didn’t risk looking back as I heard the footsteps gaining on me. I saw a side street up ahead and practically jogged over to it, hoping it led to a more populated area. As I rounded the corner, I was met with a dead end. Shit! I was in an alley with no way out but the way I’d come. I was closed in on three sides by red brick buildings, each one, four stories high. The smell of rotting garbage permeated the air making me gag. Old newspapers and God knows what else scampered across the ground. Th
e person behind me slowed their pace as they closed in on me. Dammit! I was the idiot that went up the stairs in a horror movie! How did I get myself into these situations? I took a deep breath, willing myself to calm down. I closed my fist and conjured some dust just in case I needed to defend myself. With my feeling of terror having risen to an all-time high, I turned around to face my stalker. I was now officially in freak-the-fuck-out mode as I prepared to fight.
“Hello, Karli,” Maria purred.
I froze, trying to process what was happening.
“What’s the matter?” Maria gave me a wicked smile. “Surprised to see me?”
Surprised, scared shitless…tomato, tomah-to. I was face to face with a wanted murderer. A woman who admittedly killed a man twice her size. And not just any man, mind you. One who had incredibly powerful magic at his disposal. On top of that, she came damn close to killing Chad, who was no slouch in the strength department either, thanks to his demonic genes. The gorgeous woman in front of me appeared to be a delicate walking, talking Barbie doll, but I knew she was anything but. She was a force to be reckoned with, with or without her vampire abilities, and crazy to boot. Not a good combination in any situation.
Jagged bricks were digging into my back as I stood against the wall facing her. I knew that my only hope of survival was to catch her off guard. With a mound of fairy dust waiting in my hand, I decided to play it cool. “What are you doing here, Maria? A little far from home, don’t you think?”
“I could say the same about you.” She grinned maliciously. “Perhaps you needed some distance from my husband?”
“Ex-husband,” I corrected.
Maria waved her hand in dismissal. “A technicality. He certainly didn’t act like an ex when we were fucking.” She put her index finger on her chin in contemplation. “Oh, but wait…you already know that.”
I was not going to let her goad me. “I know you’re not here for Vance since he’s five thousand miles away. Are you following me?” The wind picked up, blowing my hair forward.
Maria inhaled deeply. “Now, why would I do that?” Her fangs extended. “More importantly, why do you smell so delicious?”
I tensed. “Must be the new perfume.” Shit! I needed to find a way out of this.
She stepped forward, shaking her head. “Oh, I don’t think so. I think this is something much more.” She cocked her head to the side, studying me. “You smell different. I wonder if you taste different too.” Maria had sampled my blood when she kidnapped me during the whole put a spell on Vance and seduce him incident. That was not something that I would like to repeat.
“Sorry, I’m not in a donor mood at the moment,” I deadpanned.
She smiled. “Oh, my stupid, stupid fairy. I don’t think you have a choice.”
“Aaahh!” I screamed. Before I had the chance to form a defense ball, Maria had charged me, pinning my wrists to the brick wall behind me. She squeezed until I felt my bones crack, causing me to release the dust I had clenched in my fist.
“You think I don’t know where your power comes from?” Her fangs shot out. “You think you can beat me? You have no idea what we’re capable of!”
We? The pain in my wrist was excruciating, numbing my other senses, but I could swear she’d said ‘we’. Did she mean vampires in general? I fell to my knees choking back bile, as nausea and dizziness kicked in simultaneously. Maria never released her hold, so my arms were now wrenched behind my back. Broken bones hurt like a bitch, but this seemed extreme. My vision was now blurring and my skin felt like it was on fire. What was happening to me? She must’ve had someone nearby using magic against me.
I screamed as pain lanced through my chest. “What are you doing to me?”
Maria released me and jumped away when she heard me speak. The throaty voice was back and this time it boomed out of me, echoing across the alley. I took advantage of the reprieve and lifted my aching body from the ground. She was slowly backing away as I reached my full height, eyes widened in…fear?
“What…how…how are you doing that?” She looked down at her palms, which were now an angry shade of red.
“Doing what?” I stalked towards her on a mission. My debilitating symptoms had suddenly disappeared, leaving me with renewed energy and a single-minded focus: Kill or be killed. I knew that one of us wasn’t walking away from this.
Trash ripped through the air as the wind picked up again. My long locks were lashing me in the face as I advanced upon her. She screamed like a Banshee as blisters licked up her arm, charring the once milky, white flesh. She waved her arms wildly in my direction. “That! How are you doing that?!”
A shadow on the left caught my eye. I darted to the side just as a dumpster flew from one end of the alley to the other. Maria took advantage of the distraction and flung herself at me. I cried out as her fangs scraped down my neck, tearing my flesh. They didn’t sink in, but she was certainly trying to get them to. Something primal was awakened inside of me in that moment. I knew that she would overpower me if I didn’t take action immediately. Every instinct I possessed was screaming at me to use my light. What the hell did that mean?
It was only a matter of seconds, but I must have asked myself that question at least a dozen times before it came to me. What was the brightest source of light that I could think of? What would be the most effective weapon against a vampire? I grinned as I felt my power revving its engines, waiting for the green light. I was salivating at the possibilities as I glanced up at the night sky. My vision clouded over briefly before the entire world came into focus all at once. My eyes were no longer impeded by darkness, everything was bright as day. Maria’s bloodcurdling scream was like gasoline to my fire. I was awestruck as boils marred her perfect face until she literally went up in flames. She flailed violently, fanning the blaze. I could no longer make out her features; only shades of orange and red with flickers of blue existed. Something brushed past me, right before her morbid dance suddenly ended. A hulking force had tackled her to the ground and was rolling her body back and forth to extinguish the fire.
I blinked a few times as the light faded, allowing my eyes to adjust. Familiar brown eyes met mine as he checked her body for a pulse. Curious, I stood there watching as he scooped Maria’s limp form into his arms. My inquisitiveness morphed into surprise in the next moment, when they both disappeared into thin air. Just like that…one minute they were five feet away from me, and the next, they were floating through the ether.
“Where did they go?” I asked no one in particular. Labored sputtering behind me caused me to spin around on high alert. A large man’s body lay on the ground, patches of blackened skin exposed by melted clothing. His hair was matted with blood and his lips were crusted with blisters. I cringed as I looked over his charred face. Oh shit, did I do this? Did this poor man get caught in the crossfire? Or was he working with Maria? My gut told me he was an innocent bystander, so I conjured some dust in my hand and imagined a healing balm. I tried focusing harder but nothing was happening; I couldn’t seem to block everything else out. Dammit! His cracked lips were moving as if he was trying to say something, but no sound was coming out. I dropped to my knees and leaned over to see if I could hear him.
“Kar-li,” he wheezed.
My head snapped up. No, it couldn’t be. I examined the man more closely, looking for any clues to his identity. His closed eyelids fluttered open and icy blues stared back at me in horror. I gasped as my suspicions were confirmed. “Leo.”
“Omigod, Leo!” I cried. “What do I do? I’m so sorry; I didn’t see you! What do I do?” The smell of burnt flesh assaulted my nostrils. Leo’s burnt flesh.
He tried lifting his arm towards me but it fell limply to his side instead. “Blood…I need—” he croaked.
“Blood?” I repeated. “You need blood?” I threw off my coat and shoved my naked wrist towards his mouth. “Here, take it.”
He tried lifting his head to latch on, but he fell backwards, smacking it on the filthy concrete and lo
sing consciousness. Oh fuck, that wasn’t good! I tried shaking him but couldn’t get him to wake. I almost puked when I pulled back and realized that I had taken some of his skin with me.
“Shit!” I frantically looked around for something to open my vein. I found a broken bottle to my left and grabbed it. Without any hesitation, I slashed it across the inside of my forearm. I screamed as my skin split open. I shoved my arm against his mouth, but his lips were sealed. Using my other hand, I pried his jaw open until I was satisfied that it was wide enough. I pressed my arm against him more forcefully but he made no move to drink on his own.
“Leo, please drink,” I begged. “C’mon, you can’t leave me. You can’t leave me! Drink, dammit!” It felt like an eternity had passed before I saw his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed for the first time. A moment later, he wrapped his hand around my wrist and began drinking with renewed vigor. “Oh, thank God!”
I watched his skin repair itself as he drank from me. He didn’t need much before his eyes opened on a face that was once again beautiful. He licked my forearm, making the crude slice disappear. His awareness seemed to return as he stood with vampiric swiftness. “We need to get out of here.”
My eyes traveled over his body looking for injuries. “Are you sure you’re okay to move? You only had a few gulps.”
He patted his body down. “I’m fine.” He offered his hand to help me stand. Once I was vertical, he said, “Hold on.”
Before I could ask why, he threw me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. A second later, we were gliding across the streets of Dublin. My head spun as I hung upside down watching the pavement whiz by. Headlights from nearby cars accosted my eyeballs as we moved faster than I could’ve ever imagined. I was able to catch a fleeting glimpse of a bridge, a streetlight, and what I think was a newsstand before I squeezed my eyes shut. I was seriously on the verge of throwing up. I wasn’t prepared when he stopped suddenly, so I lurched onto the sidewalk in front of an old brick building. For a moment, all I could do was sit there on my ass, willing my head to stop spinning.
